paddlesores
Paddler
So...it looks like I'll finally have to learn how to work with fiberglass. My wife's Tahe Greenland has developed a crack along its seam. It starts about 12" from the rear on the left side and runs forward for about 30". The kayak has been taking on a bit of water while rolling for quite some time and it's finally decided to not let me put off fixing it any longer.
Never having worked with fiberglass before I really don't know where to start. The seam tape is only 1/2" wide and on our other kayaks it is a full inch. Should I commit to running new seam tape the entire length? I like the idea of making it better than before as I don't want this to happen again. To do this would I grind/sand the original tape flush with the fiberglass and then apply new tape and gel coat after? Would I just lay new tape over the existing?
And....while I'm at it I would like to strengthen the area of the deck directly behind the cockpit. The layup of this kayak is pretty light so I would like it to be able to take a bit more abuse without worry. Would this just be a matter of prepping the underside of the deck and laying in some cloth and epoxy?
Any advise/comments on cloth/epoxies/processes much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Doug
Never having worked with fiberglass before I really don't know where to start. The seam tape is only 1/2" wide and on our other kayaks it is a full inch. Should I commit to running new seam tape the entire length? I like the idea of making it better than before as I don't want this to happen again. To do this would I grind/sand the original tape flush with the fiberglass and then apply new tape and gel coat after? Would I just lay new tape over the existing?
And....while I'm at it I would like to strengthen the area of the deck directly behind the cockpit. The layup of this kayak is pretty light so I would like it to be able to take a bit more abuse without worry. Would this just be a matter of prepping the underside of the deck and laying in some cloth and epoxy?
Any advise/comments on cloth/epoxies/processes much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Doug